23rd Annual Gulf Scrabble Championships : Official Brochure and Player's Handbook

7/30/2019 23rd Annual Gulf Scrabble Championships : Official Brochure and Player's Handbook

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Official Brochure

&

Players Handbook

3r

Dubai,UnitedArabEmirates30May-1June2013


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INTRODUCTION

Welcome to Dubai for the 23rd Annual Gulf Scrabble Championships!

With the 2013 tournament, we complete a hat-trick of events in Dubai

and we look forward to hosting many more. The longevity of the GulfScrabble Championships has been nothing short of remarkable. The

first event in 1991 predated the inaugural World Scrabble Championship

(WSC) by a few months, making it one of the oldest international

Scrabble tournaments. Our youngest competitor this year, at 12 yearsold, is almost half the age of the 23 year old GSC!

Last year saw a first time champion: Ronald Credo, a former Philippines

National Champion, who succeeded in his fourth attempt at the Gulfcrown. Ronald crushed the opposition, finishing with a three game lead

which saw him Gibsonized before the final few rounds. In 2013, the

WSC has given way to the brand new Scrabble Champions Tournamentorganized by Mattel in Prague, and the top finishers from each country

at the GSC will qualify for a spot in the elite division at the premier

event. Thanks to Mohammad Sulaimans top 25 finish at the 2011 WSC

in Warsaw, the UAE has been rewarded with 2 spots for Prague, whichwill be keenly contested by Ronald, Sulaiman and a host of UAE aces.

Youth Scrabble in the UAE has had an eventful last 12 months. At the

2012 World Youth Scrabble Championship (WYSC) in Birmingham, 14

year old Navya Zaveri created history by finishing 4th over all and was

crowned the under-16 world champion. 12 year old Sanchit Kapoor

finished 18th and was the youngest player in the top 25. This stellarperformance by our youngsters has come at the perfect time as Dubai

has been named the WYSC host for 2013! This will be the first world

Scrabble tournament held in the GCC and should be a great fillip for the

game in the region. The WYSC will take place at the Etisalat Academy

from December 12-14 and will also feature a top class side tournament

for the adults en route from Prague. So mark your calendars!

This year, for the first time, the GSC will be played over 3 days and 20rounds, a natural evolution given the level of competition. It should make

for another gripping GSC, good luck to all the players! - Nikhil Soneja


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PRIZES

1st Place 4500 AED

500 AED Jashanmal Books voucherRoy Kietzman Cup (Rolling Trophy)

2nd Place 3000 AED

500 AED Jashanmal Books voucher

3rd Place 2000 AED


4th Place 1000 AED


5th Place 500 AED


Most Bingos 500 AED voucher from Jashanmal Books

Highest Game

Score

300 AED voucher from Jashanmal Books

Highest Word

Score

300 AED voucher from Jashanmal Books

In addition to the above, the top 3 places and winners for

Most Bingos and Highest Game Score will receive custom

Crystal Arc trophies. There will be surprise spot prizes

throughout the tourney for specic in-game achievements as

well as for the best scoring J, Q, X and Z words overall!


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PROGRAMME

THURSDAY, May 30th

1330 Registration1400 - 2000 Games 1-6

2000 - 2100 Scrabble masters dinner

FRIDAY, May 31st

0800 - 1230 Games 7-10

1230 - 1400 Lunch and prayer break

1400 - 2000 Games 11-16

SATURDAY, June 1st

0800 - 1230 Games 17-20

1230 - 1300 Prize ceremony

1300 - 1400 Lunch

Pairings for Games 1-15 : Lagged Australian Draw

Pairings for Games 16-20 : King Of The Hill

Challenge rule : 5pts penalty per word

Venue:


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SCENES FROM THE 22nd GUL

2012 Gulf Champion Ronald Credo (r) of the UAE receiving the Roy

Kietzman Cup from 2011 winner Mohammad Sulaiman (c) and Jishnu

Warrier of Etisalat Academy (l)

Group photo of all the participants at the 2012 Gulf Championships


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CHAMPIONSHIPS IN DUBAI

photos courtesy Faisal Khatib, Shruti Jagadeesh and Sadanand Chhatbar

The two youngest players

at the tourney, 12 year old

Sanchit and 14 year old

Surya, had a tense match.

Both proudly sported their

2011 WYSC UAE team

jerseys during the GSC.

The adjudication team washard at work throughout

the event, ably led by the

tourney director Preeti

Chhatbar (r), seen here

with Anmol Khanna (l) and

Sadanand Chhatbar (c).

Almost 200 games were

scored perfectly by theteam and sent to WESPA

for rating the next day.


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RULES SUMMARY

Note: The summary is a quick introduction to the most frequently queried

rules. It is not meant to replace the formal WESPA Rules document (http://

www.wespa.org/rules/RulesV2nov11.pdf). If any confusion exists, the

complete rules document is the only official authority.

BEFORE STARTING: Records of previous games should be taped or clipped

together. The non-starting player may choose the position of the timer.

ABSENT FROM THE TABLE: If you are absent, the TD may start yourclock. If you arrive with less than 15 minutes remaining, you MAY CHOOSE to

play, or forfeit that game meaning your opponent wins, with 75 points spread.

If you arrive after your time expires, you MUST forfeit the game.

STARTING GAME TIMER: Start your opponents timer when they drawthe first tile from the bag.

THE BAG: When tiles are drawn, the bag must be at eye level - look away

from the bag. Your opponent must always be able to see the bag. Show an open

hand before entering the bag.

COUNTING TILES: You may put your hand into the bag to count the

tiles remaining, unless your opponent is having their move and needs the bag.

Announce your intention first. Keep the bag at eye level, and look away. Show

an open hand both before and after placing your hand in the bag.ORDER OF PLAY: To complete a turn by playing a word, a player must, in

this order:

(a) place the tiles on the board

(b) announce the score for the turn

(c) press the timer

(d) record the score for the turn and the cumulative score in the normal space

on their score sheet

(e) draw replacement tiles;(f) tile track (if desired)

WHEN BAG IS EMPTY: It is not compulsory to record move scores or

cumulative scores (until game finishes).

TILE TRACKING OUT OF ORDER: If your opponent tile-tracks before

drawing replacement tiles, you may ask the TD to allocate you additional time.

END OF TURN: You may change a move, as long as the timer has not been

pressed. After you press the timer, you cannot change the move - including the

number of tiles to be exchanged, or the designation of the blank.Your turn finishes when you press the timer. If you forget to press the timer,

and place your hand in the bag to get new tiles, your move is also over.

Source: WESPA (http://www.wespa.org/rules/rulessummary.shtml)


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RULES SUMMARY

CHANGING: Before exchanging tiles, check there are at least seven tiles

in the bag. Announce Change, plus the number of tiles to be changed. Place

these tiles on the table, then start your opponents timer. Draw replacementtiles, and place on your rack. Then return discarded tiles to bag.

BLANKS: State which letter the blank represents, and write it down, preferably

on the result slip. Do not pronounce the whole word.

OVERDRAWN TILES: Declare the overdraw, and neutralise the timer. If

no new tile has touched your rack, place the new tiles face down on the table,

and your opponent selects excess tiles plus two (up to the maximum number

drawn), turns them face up and chooses the excess tile/s to return to the bag.

If any new tile has touched your rack, all tiles on the rack plus all new tiles are

placed face down on the table. Your opponent selects excess tiles plus two,

turns them face up and chooses excess tiles to return to the bag.

UNDERDRAWS: Call the TD if this happens at the end of the game, such

that one player does not have enough tiles.

DRAWING OUT OF ORDER:No penalty applies, but it could be considered

unethical if deliberate. (This usually happens because a player has tile-tracked

out of order, ie broken the rules!)

TIMERS: The timer may only be stopped during the game, when:

(a) a player says Challenge

(b) either player wishes to resolve a score discrepancy

(c) enforcing the overdraw rule

(d) calling the TD to resolve a problem

IN YOUR TURN ONLY: These actions may only be done during YOUR turn:rotating the board, adjusting tiles on the board, or verifying the score. (Do not

touch the board once you have pressed the timer)

ENDING THE GAME: When you play your final move, stop the timer (donot press it so that you opponents timer is still running).

Your opponent must either accept the move by writing down the score, or

challenge the play. If neither of these happens after five seconds, restart your

opponents timer.

SIX ZEROS: The game is also ended when there are six successive scores of

zero resulting from passes, exchanges, or challenges.

OVERTIME: You have gone overtime if your electronic count-down timer

display shows -00:01. Subtract 10 points for each minute or part thereof bywhich the time limit was exceeded.

If you run 10 minutes overtime, your game is forfeited. Call the TD.



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RULES SUMMARY


SCORES:Both players must record the score for each turn and the cumulative

(total) score.

Check cumulative scores every three or four moves, NOT EVERY MOVE (thisdisrupts opponents play).

SCORING ERRORS: (for one move, or the cumulative score) may be

corrected at any time prior to signing the final result sheet, if both players agree.

Check the final scores before signing the results sheet. After signing, no changes

can be made without permission of the TD.

RECOUNTS: (rescoring each individual move) If the final margin is 20 points

or less, either player may request a recount at the end of the game, before the

result slip is signed. The entire game must be recounted. Timers remain off.

LEAVING THE ROOM: If you need to leave the room during a game, call the

Tournament Director first - unless it is an emergency. If it is an emergency (andyou do not have time to call the TD first) your opponent must immediately tell

the TD that you have left the room.

#1 RULE If you are unsure of ANYTHING,

stop the timer, and

CALL THE TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR IMMEDIATELY!


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Game

Opponent

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GULF SCRABBLE MASTERS 2013

Anthony Gomes

WESPA Rating: 1236

World Rank: 546

Armaan Arafat

WESPA Rating: -

World Rank: -

Arvind Abraham

WESPA Rating: 1710*

World Rank: -

Jonasil Kotico

WESPA Rating: 797*World Rank: -

K.Sudarshan Surya


K.V.Chidambaram

WESPA Rating: 1276World Rank: 531

Madhu Soneja


Mahboob Khan


Cecil Fernandes


* indicates provisional/inactive rating


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Marie Fernandes

WESPA Rating: 1423

World Rank: 436

Mohd. Irfan Siddiqui

WESPA Rating: 1674

World Rank: 283

Mohammad Sulaiman

WESPA Rating: 1689

World Rank: 274

Nikhil Soneja


P.M.Firdhouse


Pranav Rao


Ralph Lobo


Rekha Balaji


Navya Zaveri




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Rohaina Tanveer

WESPA Rating: 1381

World Rank: 469

Ronald Credo

WESPA Rating: 1864

World Rank: 139

Sanjeev Sreejayan


Selwyn Lobo


Shakir Reshamwala


Sonny Hemachandra


Thilina Elvitigala


Sanath Hemachandra


Ryan Benemerito

WESPA Rating: -

World Rank: -



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TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR

Note: WESPA Ratings and World Ranks are taken from the WESPA website.

Players have a provisional rating if they have not yet played 50 rated games and an

inactive one if they have not played in the last two years, and will not have a world

rank as a result. The WESPA Ratings system was overhauled last year so some

might also nd a signicant change from previous ratings.

The highest ranking player at the tournament is the current Gulf Champion Ronald

Credo with a rating of 1864 placing him at 139th position, with the next best

Ralph Lobo on 1767/218th, Selwyn Lobo on 1747/236th, Mohammad Sulaiman on

1689/274th and Mohammed Irfan Siddiqui on 1674/283rd.

For further detail please check the WESPA ratings site at :

http://www.wespa.org/ratings/index.shtml

(As of 27th May 2013)

Uzma Saeed

WESPA Rating: 985

World Rank: 693

Wone Mamadou

WESPA Rating: 1617

World Rank: 313

Sangeetha Hemachandra

SCOREKEEPER

Anmol Khanna


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UAE SCRABBLE SC

July 2012Scrabble makes it to the front pages of

UAE newspapers as Ronald Credo is

crowned the Gulf Champion

December 2012

UAE prodigies Sanchit, Shiksha andNavya gear up for World Youth Scrabble

Championship in Birmingham


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APBOOK 2012-2013

December 2012

Navya creates history by

nishing 4th at WYSC;

Sanchit comes in 18th;Dubai conrmed as 2013

WYSC host in Birmingham

May 2013

Mattel organizes Dubai Scrabble

Championship at Festival City Mall with

over 400 participants; Scrabble classes

conducted in schools across Emirate to

prepare students for event


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GSC 2012 TOP 25

PLAYER WINS SPREAD

1. Ronald Credo 14 +1119

2. Mohammad Sulaiman 11 +672

3. Ralph Lobo 10 +827

4. Wone Mamadou 10 +510

5. Selwyn Lobo 10 +364

6. Rohaina Tanveer 10 +202

7. Ricardo Gonzalez 9 +314

8. Nikhil Soneja 9 +1829. K.V. Chidambaram 9 +147

10. Sanath Hemachandra 9 -253

11. Sanchit Kapoor 8 +223

12. Anthony Gomes 8 +66

13. Vineet Gangal 8 +33

14. Madhu Soneja 8 -5015. Sonny Hemachandra 8 -129

16. Uzma Saeed 8 -421

17. Pandian Srinivasan 7 +160

18. Nilusha Hemachandra 7 -94

19. Batul Kaizar 7 -388

20. K. Sudarshan Surya 7 -417

21. P.M. Firdhouse 7 -784

22. Hetal Sameer 7 -941

23. Kartik Adinarayanan 6 -354

24. Nadeesha Hemachandra 6 -393

25. Jonasil Kotico 5 -579


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PARTNERS

Main Sponsors

Support Sponsors

Media PartnerVenue Sponsor


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PAST CHAMPIONS

1991 Norbert Saldanha (UAE)

1992 Naween Fernando (Bahrain)

1993 Roland Filio (Bahrain)



1996 Akshay Bhandarkar (Bahrain)


1998 Dean Saldanha (UAE)

1999 Akshay Bhandarkar (Bahrain)2000 Roland Filio (Bahrain)

2001 Cecil Fernandes (Oman)

2002 Chris Abordo (Bahrain)

2003 Ricardo Gonzalez (Saudi Arabia)

2004 Selwyn Lobo (UAE)

2005 Ralph Lobo (Oman)

2006 Ralph Lobo (Oman)

2007 Akshay Bhandarkar (UAE)

2008 Mohammad Zafar (Bahrain)

2009 Akshay Bhandarkar (UAE)

2010 Mohammad Sulaiman (UAE)

2011 Mohammad Sulaiman (UAE)

2012 Ronald Credo (UAE)

Note: Akshay Bhandarkar has uniquely won the tournament

representing two countries (Bahrain and UAE, twice each),

though Ralph Lobo, who moved to the UAE five years ago,

came very close to matching that feat in 2009 and 2010.


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Get ready for the

Documents

23rd Annual Gulf Scrabble Championships : Official Brochure and Player's Handbook